The construction of a gas interconnector between Romania and Bulgaria will be
completed by mid-April at the latest, Romanian gas pipeline operator Transgaz
said on Friday.
The drilling works have been delayed due to the
geological characteristics of the area and heavy snowfall in January and
February, Transgaz told SeeNews in an email.
In January Bulgaria’s gas
transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz said that the interconnector is
expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of March.
The
project for the 25-kilometre pipeline under the Danube river linking the
southern Romanian village of Comasca with Marten, in northern Bulgaria, is being
implemented jointly by Bulgartransgaz and Transgaz. It includes the construction
of a 15 kilometre pipeline in Bulgaria, another 7.5 kilometres in Romania and a
2.5 underwater section.
Earlier this week Bulgaria's deputy economy
minister Ivan Ayolov said Bulgaria will be able to get up to 0.5 billion cubic
metres (bcm) of gas annually via the interconnector, using only a third of its
planned capacity. Romania has failed to build a compression station near the
capital Bucharest as planned, thwarting Bulgaria's plans to receive up to 1.5
bcm annually through the link, he added.